Right Here - A McRoll in the REAL World Story
by Mari217
Summary: Catherine is unsettled and, as always, Steve is right there.


_Sammy and Ilna: as we head toward another new year together, I can't help but think how it was in December 2013 I met you ladies. You've become family and I'm forever grateful._

 _#REALMcRollers you are the best readers anyone could ever ask for. Your reviews and feedback are amazing and we love you all!_

 _Thank you, Ilna for the title!_

 _Please see the endnotes and join us for the upcoming **REAL World Ask the Authors Q &A!**_

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 **Right Here**

It was unnaturally bright in the hallway and Catherine stumbled a bit as her eyes adjusted to the glare, but time was critical so she moved forward, single-mindedly focused on her task.

"Steve!" her mind screamed, but her voice was barely a whisper. She took a breath and looked around, trying to calm her heart which was threatening to burst out of her chest.

"Steve!" _Please_ , _God_ , she thought as she tried again, but where she expected to find him around each corner, there was nothing but empty rooms. Holding back a sob, she pushed forward, reaching for the doorknob on the last closed door. Her fingers touching the hot metal, she felt such overwhelming dread and fear she had to swallow the bile rising in her throat.

Before she could turn the knob, a hand closed over hers. She tried to pull free - she needed to find Steve, had to get to him. He could be hurt or worse … no, she shook her head. She could sense him, _feel_ him - he was alive. The grip on her hand was firm, and she stopped struggling. A growl of frustration escaped her lips as she turned, prepared to fight. But before she could assume a battle stance, the dread filling her entire being suddenly just … dissipated.

Her gut wrenching fear subsided at a single word.

"Catherine."

Her name.

Spoken in the voice she'd know anywhere.

Accompanied by the familiar touch that could break through the fog of any nightmare.

"Hey, hey, open your eyes." His hand smoothed her hair back. "Look at me. I'm fine."

When she blinked awake, Steve's face swam before her; his hand was gently at her cheek.

"I'm okay, see?" His thumb traced softly along her jaw. "I'm right here."

Exhaling as she became fully alert and back to herself, she nodded. "I …" She cleared her throat, "I'm okay, I'm good." She covered his hand with her own, leaning into his touch before kissing his palm. "Thank you."

"Bad one, huh?" Steve asked quietly when she'd pulled back from the soft kiss she'd placed on his lips.

He'd woken immediately when he felt her shift and heard her whimper his name. Nobody could fight someone else's demons, but Steve and Catherine had long ago become each other's anchor and grounding force. "Wanna talk?"

She nodded and swiped a hand across her cheek to wipe away a tear.

"I knew you needed me, that you were …" she took a slow, deliberate breath. "Down. You were down." She searched his eyes, saw the familiar reassurance and love. "And I couldn't find you. I could hear you groaning at first, then I couldn't hear you anymore, and I kept opening …" She kissed him again, to ground herself, and continued, "doors, but every room was empty." She exhaled a deep, cleansing breath. "It sounds like nothing when I say it out loud."

Speaking of it to Steve took away the nightmare's power.

"It's never nothing, Cath, but that's good." Steve ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it back from where it had fallen into her eyes. Sometimes the 'talk it through' technique worked quickly - breaking down the details of what, in a dream state, were terrifying moments. "C'mon." He shifted onto his back, and she wrapped herself around him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck.

Her fingers settled over his pulse point. "Love you. So much."

He kissed the top of her head, breathing, "I love _you_ ," into her hair.

Seconds later, she glanced up past Steve at a small huffing noise and raised her chin. "I woke Cammie. Sorry, baby," she addressed the dog, who'd put both paws up on the bed and was peering at her over Steve.

Stretching and bracing a hand on his chest for balance, Catherine gently scratched Cammie's ears.

Reaching to rub the dog's neck, Steve whispered, "Good girl, Cammie. We know you wanna help. Catherine's fine, we're both fine. Good job. You can go back to sleep," Steve reassured her, and she moved to her own bed, keeping a careful eye on her humans as she settled. It wasn't the first time either of them had woken distressed, and she watched for a full minute before she was satisfied all was well and closed her eyes.

Settling back into Steve's embrace, Catherine sighed softly.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice low and soothing as Catherine's heartbeat returned to normal and her body relaxed fully against his. "Need anything?"

"Uh uh," She raised her head to place a kiss on his chest, over his heart before settling her slightly flushed cheek against his cool skin with a sigh. "Everything I need is right here."

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 _Thanks for reading_

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 _First ever **REAL World Ask the Authors Q &A!**_

 _This holiday season, we're so grateful for our amazing readers! We'd like to invite you to ask us questions about the REAL World. Answers to select questions will appear in the end notes of the stories and on our Tumblr page from 12/21-1/2 during the **2nd Annual Holiday REAL World McRollathon!**_

 _You can **submit questions to the REAL World writing team** via reviews, through email ( **realmcroll at yahoo dot com** ), with Tumblr messages ( **mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com** ), or to Mari on Twitter ( **at mari21763)**._

 _Thank you for your incredible support of the REAL World!_

 ** _Happy Holidays!_**

 ** _Mari, Sammy, and Ilna_**


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